Griffins Features

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … Oklahoma City Barons defenseman Bryan Helmer skated in his 1,000th regular-season American Hockey League game on Friday as the Barons took on the Abbotsford Heat at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alta.

Helmer is the seventh player in the league’s 75-year history to reach that milestone, joining Willie Marshall (1,205 career games), Fred Glover (1,201), Harry Pidhirny (1,071), Mike Nykoluk (1,069), Jody Gage (1,038) and Rob Murray (1,018). Marshall, Glover, Pidhirny, Nykoluk and Gage are members of the AHL Hall of Fame.

A 38-year-old native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Helmer was undrafted after playing Junior-A hockey and made his professional debut with the AHL’s Albany River Rats on Oct. 8, 1993. He played five seasons in Albany, helping the team to a Calder Cup championship in 1995, and later skated for the Worcester IceCats (1998-2000), Manitoba Moose (2001-03), Springfield Falcons (2003-04), Grand Rapids Griffins (2004-06), San Antonio Rampage (2006-08) and Hershey Bears (2008-10), where he captained the Bears to back-to-back Calder Cup titles. He signed with Oklahoma City on Jan. 7, 2011.

Helmer is the AHL’s all-time leader among defensemen in games played, assists (402) and points (526), and he has played more Calder Cup Playoff games (138) than any player in AHL history. He was a First Team AHL All-Star in 1997-98 and a Second Team AHL All-Star in 2005-06.

In addition to his AHL numbers, Helmer has appeared in 146 games in the National Hockey League with Phoenix, St. Louis, Vancouver and Washington.